New Jersey BPU Establishes Natural Gas Vehicle Grant Program

The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) has announced a $200,000 grant program to help fund the incremental cost of heavy-duty compressed natural gas (CNG)-powered trucks and buses.

“This is yet another positive step in implementing the State Energy Master Plan policies that support alternative fuel vehicles comprehensively and are accelerating the adoption of alternative fuel vehicles including electric and CNG vehicles,” says Richard S. Mroz, board president, in a press release. “In making these grants available, we can gauge interest in cleaner and quieter running CNG trucks and buses.”

According to the release, awards will be capped at $20,000 per vehicle and $40,000 per applicant and will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis until funding is exhausted. Eligibility is limited to Class 5 through 8 trucks and buses registered in the seven counties that the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Air Quality Index has previously classified as unhealthy for sensitive groups for 10 or more days in 2015 and 2016. These are the counties of Camden, Mercer, Middlesex, Bergen, Gloucester, Hudson, and Ocean.

Eligible applicants for the grant program include municipalities, political subdivisions, incorporated nonprofit entities, corporations and limited liability companies or partnerships registered to do business in New Jersey. The program is expected to result in at least 10 CNG-powered trucks and buses replacing similar vehicles powered by diesel fuel.

The application window opens no sooner than noon on Nov. 20, and the window closes at noon local time on Dec. 20. Further information can be found here.